802.11r

802.11r in another protocol like the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n, that is, it also belongs to the 802.11 family. The 802.11 was the first protocol introduced to the world for the functioning of the wireless networks, however, it soon became outdated as the demand for more speedy, efficient and secure network grew. So to meet these demands, many other protocols were introduced to the world, however, all of them kept the basic fundamentals of the 802.11 as the base for their advance and better functioning. This protocol has been recently introduced as compared to the other protocol present in the 802.11 family.

The 802.11r protocol is also known as the Fast Basic Service Set or BSS. The reason that this protocol has this name is that, it is specifically designed to speed handoffs between the access points in the wireless LAN. This protocol was published in 2008 on 15th July. The protocol plays an important role in the proper functioning of the wireless phones that have to disconnect from one access point and have to connect to the next one under 50 msec. The best example of the situation where this protocol helps a lot is the use of the mobile phone while driving at high speed. In this situation the connection with the old access point is broken and the connection with the new access point is made under 50 msec. The protocol also enables the ability for VoIP roaming on a Wi-Fi network with the 802.1x authentication.

Another plus point of the 802.11r protocol along with the advantage mentioned above is that, this protocol does not compromises on security, that is, even though it switches between access points at very high speed, it still maintains a good security thus preventing an unauthorized person from gaining access to the information flowing in the signal.